Engine-starter.



A. C. WINDAU.

ENGINE STARTER.

AFPLICATION man nmz?, 1917.

LZSL'YSB. Patented oet. 15, 1918.

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' ALBERT c. WINDAU, OE PORTLAND, OREGON, AssIGNon OE ONE-HALE To EDWARD HILL, or PORTLAND, OREGON.

ENGINE-STARTER.

Specificationl of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 15, 1918.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT C. WINDAU, a

`citizen of the United States, residing at Portland, in the county of Multnomah and State of Oregon, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Engine-Starters; andl I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to starting mechanism for internal combustion engmes and particularly to internal combustion engines arranged in vehicles.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a simple, practicable, inexpensive and reliable device which may be readily installed upon the usual, manually operable starting crank shaft of engines of the type referred to.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a starting device which may be readily associated with the usual cranking shaft of automobile engines without necessitating a permanent removal `of any of the parts, and without necessitating expensive alterations to the same.

It is another objectA of the invention to provide a manually operable starting device, the control means of which are adapted to be disposed with relation to the seat of the vehicle occupied by the operator, so asrto eliminate the necessity of the latter from leaving lthe car to start or crank the en- It -is a further object of the invention to provide a device of this type which may be operated, as stated, either from a position at the operators seat on the vehicle or which will permit the usual cranking of the engine by the ordinary crank handle provided for this purpose.

With these and other objects in view, the present invention consists in the whole, the construction, the combination and details of construction as will be more fully hereinafter described, one embodiment of the invention being illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a front side elevation, partly in section, of the starting sector,

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the cranln'ng shaft and its associated elements, partly taken in'J section on the plane indicated as line 2-2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the starting mechanism as installed on a vehicle, the body of which is illustrated in dotted lines,

Fig. 4 is a side elevation in detail and paitly broken away, of the trip mechanism, an

Fig. 5 is a detail plan view connections.

While in the present disclosure, the invention is shown as designed as readily applicable to automobiles of the Ford type, it is to be understood that the various elements may be varied in shape, design and in other details as may be necessary to accommodate it to engines of different types or for other purposes, as may be desired.

In the drawings, 1 represents one of the usual clutch members of vehicles of this type, this member being secured to a shaft 2 having a crank 2a at its outer end whereby the shaft may be turned by this means when desired. Rotatively lmounted on the inner end of the shaft is a segment of a sleeve 3 on which is pi'voted a pawl 4 adapted to engage a ratchet 5 fixed on the end of the shaft, so that the latter may be rotated in one direction of movement of the segmental sheave, the ratchet being designed to play freely over the seat when moving in the opposite direction. A spring 3, connected at one end to the segment 3 is adapted to be connected at its other end to any suitable support has the function of returning the segment to its idle position, and connected to and extendin tangentially from the sheave is a section o chain 6 or any other suitable element which is fastened to the larger end of a multiplying pulley wheel 6', Fig. 3, from the smaller wheel or end 6a of which there extends a chain which is connected to a segment 8 of a manually operable lever arm or lever 9, disposed adjacent the operators seat in the vehicle.

The shaft 2 is held yieldmgly in a forward or outermost position to disengage the' clutch member 1 from its complementary element by means of a, spring 10, reacting against a collar or shoulder 10 on the shaft, this latter being engaged by a lever 11 which is flexibly connected to a convenient portion of the frame or other support by a chain 11', for instance, the lever having at of one of the its other end a .connecting rod 12 which is connected at its opposite end to a bracket or other suitable device 13b secured on or attached vto .a trip arm 13 which is pivoted at 13a on a slide 13C appropriately supported on a portion of the frame of the vehicle or of a device secured thereto.

It is desirable to provide means whereby the cranking shaft 2 can be shifted axially so-as `to carry its clutch 1 into driving association with its coperative member, not shown, and then'to rotate the shaft 2 so as to ,turn --over the vcrank vshaft of t-he engine. It is especially desirable that these two functions be obtained by the use of a single element, for instance, as the control lever 9 for the simplication of the parts and easevof operation, and therefore, the trip arm 13 is shown'as having a shoulder engaging a complementary pawl or interlocking device l14 connected at 14"FL to the draw chain 7, above described, the actuating lever 14 being shown as guided between suitable anti'friction devicesas rollers 16 and 17.

In operation, when Athe lever 9 is thrown forwardly, for instance, itpulls the chain 7 and through it the connecting rod 14, which at Athis time, is engaged by the forward end of the pawl or trip 13 which is pressed downward by a spring 13d, until the for- Ward inclined end of the lever 13 engages a pin 15 which causes the elevation of the lever `or pawl 13, and its disassociation from the member 14 whereupon the spring 10 acts automatically to tend to push the shaft 2 forwardly for the ready separation of the Clutch member 1 as necessary. However, after the initial forward movement of the shaft 2 through means of the trip pawl 13, further movement of the lever 9 acts through the chain 7 and the multiplying device 6', and the chain 6 connected to the sector 3 to rotate the crank shaft and thus start the engine lwhile the clutches are engaged. As soon as the engine picks up speed, the clutches are automatically disengaged through the action of the spring 10, which throws the shift lever 11 forwardly, and with it the connecting rod 12.

What is claimed is:

1. A starting device for combustion engines comprising a starting shaft, means for normally holding said shaft in an inoperative position, means for actuating said shaft, and automatically releasable trip mechanism connecting said starting shaft and shaft actuating means for a predetermined distanceof movement of said shaft actuating gines .comprising .-a starting .sha-ft, 4ar manual lever, means for rotating the shaft operable by said lever, and automatically releasable trip mechanism connecting said starting shaft and shaft actuating means for a predetermined distance of movement of said shaft actuating vmeans for shifting" said starting shaft intooperative position. p

3. A starting device for combustion engines comprising -a lstartingrshaft, means for normally holding lsaid shaft I:in inoperative *.position, `mea-ns for` rotating :f the; shaft, mechanism connected fto Isaid shaft flota-ting means Afor a portion of its. `actuating:move:- ment, and'rmeans for disconnecting .thezmechanism ,at a 'predetermined 4poiiit during the movement of .said -startingymeans 4. A .startingdev-iceffor combustion fengines comprising af starting fshaft: ywith ='1a ratchet, means for lvnormally@ `holdingthe shaft in inoperative,position, aesec'torfp'ivoted on the shaft and Vhavingfmeans to :engage the ratchet,- a starting leverfconiiected to the sector, and autematica-liv releasable trip mechanism connectingwith-the rshaft actuating devices. for ja portion v.ofl-their movement for shiftingl fthe. said shaftinto operative position.

5. A starting device f'fori'c'ombustion ferri gines comprising a starting Isliait'fvvfith `a ratchet, means vfor shaft in `inoperative position, a: sectorizpivoted on thel shaft and havingwmeans to en gage the ratchet, a starting lever connected to the sector, and:automatically"releasable trip mechanism lconnect-ing with vthe fsha'ft actuating devices: for a-portion of their movement for shiftingy-the said-:shaft into operative position, t-hel shaft; being` rotative independently ofthe starting `means.

6. A starting device for combustion engines comprising `a starting shaftaineans'for holding it in inoperativef-pos'ition",y means for rotating .said shaft, and-mechanismifor shifting the shaft to operative position comprising a shift llever engaging 1apart onithe shaft, self-connecting Strip elements onel of which isconnected to said shaft rotating means and the other to said for automatically tripping :said elements after the vshaft has been i moved to Aoperative position.

In testimony WhereofI aflixmy signature.

ALBERT c. WIND-AU.

(Jolies 0f this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the CommissionerQll'atents Washington, J). C.

normally -rholding "thelever, and means 

